MADE
by Nyx6
Summary: Sick and tired of being uncool, Josh applies to MTV's Made. Just something quick and fun because I was so bored and I love this show even though I am probably too old now! COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

#1: This Is Me.

I want to be better, faster, stronger. I want to be made.

"_Hi, this is me, Josh. Where I come from, guys who do all their homework on time and spend their summers working on science projects don't really get much attention – especially not from girls._

_At my school, the coolest guys are the ones who get straights Fs, play guitar and spend two hours on their hair alone. Like this guy. This is Drake, the most popular guy in school, and if that's not bad enough, he's my brother._

_Drake's cool and everything, but sometimes I just wish I could step out of his shadow and prove he's not the only one in the family who can be interesting. That's why, if I could be made into anything, it would be Prom King._

_That's right, Belleview High Prom King 2007, with a gorgeous girl draped over my arm and everyone cheering for me, and this year, might just be my turn._

_I want to be made."_


	2. Chapter 2

#2 : Meet My Made Coach

Josh stands behind the counter at the Premiere serving a customer popcorn, and taking the money in return. Drake is leaning against the other side, reaching over and picking at one of the ready-made buckets. Josh slaps his hand away.

"Drake!" he snaps.

Drake looks back at him, put out.

"What?"

"Those," Josh moves it further out of reach, "Are for paying customers only. Which you are not."

Drake holds his hands up in defeat,

"Fine," he replies sulkily, "No need to bite my head off."

Josh sighs, obviously feeling guilty although not really knowing why he should.

"I'm sorry dude, ok? But I'm just really worried about this MTV thing, I'm supposed to meet my made coach any day now and I'm worried in case I don't like him."

Drake shrugs,

"What makes you think he'll like you any better."

For a second no one speaks, and Josh just blinks in exasperation,

"Yeah," he replies, heavy on the sarcasm, "Thanks for the pep talk."

Drake remains oblivious and picks again at the popcorn, not so far out of reach.

"No problem."

Josh swipes at him again,

"Not helping!"

Drake leans back with a sigh, casting over his brother with that annoying not-bothered expression,

"Honestly Josh, if it's making you so uptight why are you doing it at all?"

"Because I want to do something different all right? I'm sick of just being in the background and having everyone ignore me."

Drake frowns,

"People don't ignore you."

Helen breezes in from behind them, clipboard glued to her chest as usual,

"Hey Helen," Josh chirps buoyantly,

"Hi Drake," his boss replies, swishing straight past.

Drake eyes his brother steadily, sensing his annoyance.

"See!" Josh shrieks in triumph, throwing a hand in the direction of the rapidly disappearing theater manager, "Ignoring me!"

Drake snorts,

"Come on dude…"

"No, it's not just Helen ok, I get it all the time. People just don't - ," he stops short. Drake has spotted a cute blonde and at once un-sticks himself from the counter and walks off mid-sentence. Josh stares after him in amazement, "Not helping!" he yells again across the room.

Everyone ignores him.

"Great."

Heavily putout, he picks up a damp cloth and starts wiping down the sticky counter-top.

"Excuse me?"

He looks up, a large lady is standing in front of him, glaring across the counter. He fixes on his 'may-I-help-you' smile.

"Yes?"

"I'd like a cola popcorn."

He blinks at her,

"A…cola popcorn?"

"Yes." She snaps.

He looks around, wondering if they have a new type of popcorn and no one's told him. Eventually he looks back at her and shrugs,

"I'm sorry ma'am, but, I don't think we have that here."

Her eyes narrow and he takes an involuntary step backwards. She clears her throat,

"No son, not cola flavoured popcorn. Cola and popcorn..."

"Oh," he looks relieved, "Right."

"In the same container…"

"Heh?" he can't help it. It's a strange request.

"You heard me boy."

Reluctantly Josh does so, picking up the bucket of popcorn, shutting his eyes, and filling it with cola. Not unsurprisingly, the cola starts to leak out of the bottom of the cardboard square, all over his newly cleaned work surfaces.

"Good," the woman says briskly, "Now, I'd like an ice cream hot dog,"

Josh takes a guess,

"Ice cream with a hot dog?"

"No!" she yells, making him jump, "A hot dog in ice cream, don't you know anything?"

"No ma'am," he replies meekly. Resisting the urge to gag as he does, Josh sticks a hot dog into a tub of ice cream and pushes it across the counter.

"With sauce…" she adds.

He baulks, now feeling really sick.

"…and sprinkles."

As the smell of chocolate sauce starts to fill his nose, mixed with the odour of hot meat, he starts to feel woozy, swaying a little behind the counter.

Drake rushes up with a sense of urgency, ignoring both the woman and the rest of the queue.

"Hey Josh, can I borrow a popcorn?"

"Not now Drake," Josh slurs as the sprinkles scatter like a mini-rainbow through the air. Drake looks at the concoction with awe,

"Hey, cool."

Gripping firmly onto the counter Josh pushes the mixture towards the woman, head spinning rapidly.

"Here you go ma'am."

She looks at him,

"And one more thing…"

His vision starts to spot.

"…Josh Nichols, I'm your made coach."

As everyone stares on in amazement, Josh nose-dives behind the counter, out cold, leaving Drake to pick unconcerned at the newly created cola popcorn. He shrugs,

"Not bad."


	3. Chapter 3

#3 : Meet The Family.

_"So that's my made coach, Lindy. She's the four times Wacky Wrestling Corp. women's champ and a motivational speaker, and for the next few weeks, she's going to be in charge of my makeover. But the first thing she wanted to do before we got down to business? Go and meet my family."_

Megan is sitting on the couch as Josh comes through the front door, gushing excitedly to a large heavy-set woman following in his wake.

"Hey!" he calls out, "Anyone in?"

"Hey boob."

He grins, for once not bothered by the nickname.

"Megs, come here!" he sounds so excited that she can't quite bring herself to ignore him, and gets up with a sigh to join him in the doorway.

"What?" she shrugs.

"Megan," Josh is now beaming, "I want you to meet Lindy, Lindy, this is my little sister, Megan."

"Hi," his sister is anything but pleased and looks up at Josh, dropping her voice to a whisper, "Why have you brought the incredible hulk home?"

Lindy takes a step towards her, fists clenched,

"Do you know what a Egyptian strangle-hold looks like little girl?"

Megan stares back defiantly,

"No."

"Want to find out?"

"Err - ," pushing Megan behind him nervously, Josh steps forward with his brightest smile, "Let's see if anyone else is home…MOM! DAD!"

No one answers, but as if on cue, Drake wanders out of the kitchen.

"Hey Drake!" Josh bellows in excitement, deafening everyone. His brother stares back, confused.

"Yeah?"

"You didn't get to meet Lindy properly back at the Premiere,"

Drake smiles, amused,

"Oh yeah, I was too busy watching Helen do mouth-to-mouth on you."

Josh scrubs at his mouth with the back of his sleeve,

"Don't need reminding!" he snaps. Suddenly, he's aware of Lindy watching him, "Anyway, Drake this is my made coach Lindy, and Lindy this is my brother Drake."

Drake holds up a hand,

"Hi."

"Hmmm…" Lindy simply eyes him shrewdly in response, looking him up and down. Eventually she looks directly at him, "I think you must be the reason Josh has self-confidence issues."

Drake stares back at her, unimpressed,

"Yeah? Well I think _you_ -,"

He's interrupted by the sound of the front door clicking open, followed by Audrey and Walter's voices.

"I told you to buy the blue tie," Audrey is calling back over her shoulder as her husband comes in dragging a heap of shopping bags,

"Only because that guy recommended it -,"

Audrey snorted,

"Oh please! Walter!"

"Don't give me that! I saw you making eyes at him -,"

"Mom! Dad!" Josh rushes up to greet them and throw some cold water on their argument. They both look at him in surprise and he holds a hand out towards the sitting room, where Megan and Drake are standing looking peeved, and a stranger is settling herself on the couch.

"Josh?" Walter begins, looking for some sort of explanation.

"Guys, this is my made coach."

"Oh," Audrey's face shows her understanding, and depositing bags the pair step forward to greet her, "Welcome."

Lindy takes their hands in a bone-crushing shake,

"Nice to meet you."

Walter cradles his throbbing fingers with some resentment,

"Likewise."

As Audrey engages her in conversation Josh goes to join his brother, grinning wildly,

"Isn't Lindy great?!" he beams. Drake is less impressed,

"Sure, if you like being taught by a gorilla."

Josh frowns, hurt,

"You don't like her?"

His brother snorts, oblivious to Josh's unhappiness,

"Oh she's great, yeah, I especially liked it when she blamed me for everything that's wrong with _you_."

Josh's face falls,

"Hey, there's nothing _wrong_ with me Drake. Look, this is really important to me, and I'd appreciate it if you showed me some support."

Drake looks back at him,

"You, I can support. But her, I don't even like sharing a room with," and he pushes past Josh and stalks from the room.

"Drake?"

Seeing he is about to follow his brother, Lindy steps forward determinedly,

"Josh, time for task one,"

His face lights up in excitement.

"Great! What's task one?"

Her smile never fades.

"The gym."


	4. Chapter 4

#4 : He Ain't Heavy…

_"The gym was pretty tough, or rather, Lindy was pretty tough. But then again she is a professional wrestler, so I guess I couldn't ask for a better fitness coach. Even if I do feel like I'm about to have a coronary. I just wanted to go home and relax, but Lindy had other ideas…3 dates? In one night? Me? No way!"_

"Oh great, you're home," as Josh is straightening his tie and brushing the dust off his rarely-worn tux, Drake breezes into the room carrying a plastic bag and heading for the television, "You'll never guess what I bought."

"Drake…" Josh is interrupted,

"Demon monsters four!" he sounds like a small boy. Josh blinks,

"Demon monsters four?" the excitement isn't just one-sided.

"Yeah!" Drake holds the game up towards him, "With extra gore!" he finally takes in his brothers' appearance and frowns, "What's with the threads?"

Josh smiles, glad it's been noticed,

"You like it?"

"It's…ok. Although it's a little bit fancy for playing the game sphere,"

Josh smiles,

"No, it's not for that, Lindy organised me a date, well, actually three dates."

"Three?"

"Yeah,"

"Who with?"

Josh shrugs, pulling on his jacket,

"I don't know. Friends of hers I guess,"

His brother snorts,

"Right, let me guess, two monkeys and a chimpanzee."

"Drake!" Josh can't hide his frustration, and he turns around to face him looking hurt, "I thought you said you'd show me some support."

Drake looks back at him, unremorseful,

"Yeah? Well maybe I take that back."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Silence settles over the bedroom as Drake sits down to play his game, he seems unmoved by the argument, although Josh keeps glancing in his direction, clearly upset. He runs his hands through his hair and checks his watch,

"I gotta go," he heads for the door, "Wish me luck?"

"Nope."

Josh's face falls.

"You know Drake, I know you don't like Lindy, and maybe you don't like the fact that I'm the centre of attention for once, but this is something that means a lot to me, and I'm going to do this with or without you."

That said, he storms out and slams the door.

For a second Drake just sits and carries on playing, as if he either hasn't heard or doesn't care. But eventually he turns off the game, glances towards the door, and sits back heavily on the couch, troubled.


	5. Chapter 5

#5 : A Love Machine

Josh is not having a good time. The dates Lindy has organised are not with the young, hot supermodels he expects. Instead he is sitting at a table in a restaurant with three middle-aged women, looking distinctly awkward.

"So…Susan, you said you were divorced?" Josh begins, trying to get the conversation started and picking at the boring salad Lindy has ordered him with a fork.

The woman sitting to his right, tall and blonde with her hair pulled back tightly, looks up at him,

"Yes, that's right. My husband ran off with a twenty-one year old beauty therapist after twelve years of marriage…" she drains her wine glass and reaches for the bottle, swigging from it greedily. Josh gulps nervously,

"O-kay then," he turns to the next lady, "Jennifer, what about you? Are you married?"

The woman, a fuller-figured, fluffy-haired brunette shakes her head,

"No. I always wanted to be, but I just haven't found the right man yet, I don't know why…" as she's talking she discovers that the basket of bread rolls on the table is filled with white bread only, and catches a waiter by the sleeve as he walks by, "…excuse me…"

"Yes ma'am?"

Suddenly she picks up the entire basket and throws it at him, screaming whilst she does,

"White bread? White bread? Are you trying to kill me?! Get me brown!"

Josh stares at her incredulous,

"Not married huh?" he replies eventually, his usual dash of cynicism kicking in, "Shocking."

She smiles at him, thinking him sincere, tutting as Susan, still swigging from the bottle knocks into her as she collapses face first onto the table sobbing,

"Simon! Why did you leave me?"

The third woman, a skinny, fierce-looking redhead glares across the table at Josh,

"Now see what you've done! Do you enjoy making women cry?"

Josh looks back horrified,

"No!"

The third woman doesn't seem convinced,

"Typical male attitude. Ignorant the lot of you!"

"Excuse me?" Josh asks, both perplexed and offended,

"Simon!" the sobbing continues loudly across the table and, now feeling guilty, he reaches over to rest a hand on Susan's shoulder.

"I'm really sorr - ,"

He gets no further as the blonde launches herself up from the table, still holding the wine bottle and wobbling dangerously on her feet,

"Don't touch me!" she screams across the restaurant. Next to her Jennifer lights a cigarette, drawing the attention of the maitre'd, who hurriedly scuttles over,

"Excuse me madam, but this is a no smoking restaurant."

Josh holds his breath in anticipation and is not disappointed. As Susan clambers drunkenly onto the table and starts doing the can-can with loud accompaniment, Jennifer leaps up to confront the waiter, beginning to scream at him and shoving the man coming up behind them with a new basket of rolls, sending bread scattering like a shower. Woman three is still berating him,

"All the same you men. Selfish, rude, loud…"

As the chaos unfolds around him, Josh glances across the room for Lindy. She's sitting at a table alone eating what looks to be half of the menu. He desperately tries to catch her eye in between Susan's leg kicks.

"…clumsy, insensitive…"

Eventually Lindy looks up and Josh, sighing with relief urges her over with a violent head twitch. Not sensing the emergency she simply gives him a thumbs up and goes back to her food, leaving Josh to cast around the rest of the room, and the open-mouthed couples staring at the show.

He resists the urge to slide under the tablecloth, he wants the ground to swallow him whole.

_"Never mind a date, I'll go to the prom alone."_


	6. Chapter 6

#6 : Canvassing

Craig and Eric are standing behind a table in the corridor of Belleview High, the table is covered in leaflets and the pair are trying to appeal to passers-by.

"Vote Josh people!" Craig shouts feebly through a loud-speaker. They are both covered in 'Vote Josh' buttons and badges. Craig sighs, "This is hopeless."

Eric throws his hands in the air dramatically,

"Well maybe if you pressed the right button people would actually be able to hear you!"

Craig glares over at his best friend,

"I don't want to wear down the batteries,"

Eric throws his hands in the air in exasperation,

"Then why bring it at all?!"

Craig puts his hands on his hips,

"Do _you_ want to co-ordinate this operation?"

Eric stares back at him,

"Perhaps I should!"

"Well - ,"

"Guys! Guys!" Josh rushes in, stepping between the warring factions, "Cool it ok?" Reluctantly Craig and Eric step apart, "Now, how's it going?"

Craig looks down, embarrassed,

"Not so good."

Josh looks confused,

"Why?"

Eric snorts,

"Because someone won't use the batteries…"

Craig's temper flares,

"That's it!"

"Guys!" Josh appeals again. Lindy appears in the background, hands on hips,

"What's going on? How many people have we got voting for us?"

The boys look at her nervously,

"N-none." Eric ventures.

"What?!"

Everyone flinches visibly.

"Are you boys useless?"

Josh steps forward to try and defend his friends,

"It's not really - ," he gets no further because Lindy snatches the speaker from Craig and climbs onto the chair,

"Attention people!" she yells through it. Craig pales visibly at the battery-use, "Vote Josh for Prom King and get a dollar!"

Josh frowns,

"What? We haven't got any money!"

Lindy peers down at him,

"I know I don't. But you got a wallet on you boy, get giving!"

As people suddenly start to swarm the table Josh looks up at her aghast,

"But - ,"

"Give!" Lindy yells at him, and he jumps terrified,

"Giving!"

Reluctantly he starts handing out dollar bills, face a picture of misery. As people swarm around him, pushing, shoving and shouting Drake wanders in on the chaos and shakes his head. He can't understand it, and, back in the crush, Josh is starting to feel the same way.

"Stop shoving!"


	7. Chapter 7

#7 : The Big Night One

Audrey is fussing at Drake, smoothing out his clothes and looking at him proudly,

"I can't believe it! My boy's all grown up!"

He flaps her off crossly,

"Yeah, yeah, ok mom, enough already!"

In the corner Lindy is standing waiting for Josh, as is Walter, flanked by a bored-looking Megan.

"Come down Josh!" Walter calls up. The voice that replies is a little panic-stricken.

"Err…Lindy, I'm not sure about the tux you bought me…"

Lindy snorts,

"Nonsense!" she bellows, deafening everyone gathered in the living room, "Come on down boy!"

"Alright." He sounds hesitant and as he shuffles into the room everyone can see why. The tux is something out of the sixties, in baby blue and with plenty of ruffles. Audrey gasps, Walter tries to look pleasantly surprised and Drake and Megan burst out laughing. Josh looks utterly miserable,

"See! It looks great!" Lindy is beaming. Behind her, Drake snorts,

"Yeah, for a birthday cake."

He ignores the glare she throws in his direction. Megan is still giggling,

"I've got to get my camera!" she slips past them and runs upstairs, Josh's expression making her laugh harder,

"Megan!"

"Don't you worry none," Lindy has stepped forward and is tightening Josh's tie, he gasps as she pulls the ends roughly,

"Air…"

She laughs and punches him playfully, nearly knocking him over. Drake shakes his head, half-pitying, half-gloating. His brother sighs,

"I-I'm not sure I want to go anymore."

Audrey looks sympathetic,

"Oh Josh, after all your hard-work?"

"Of course he's going!" Lindy half-shouts, "Especially when he sees his beautiful date for the evening!"

Josh's face suddenly lights up,

"You got me a date?"

Lindy tuts,

"Well you can't go alone now can you? Can't have a Prom King without a pretty girl on his arm!"

Josh bounces back to his optimistic old self, rubbing his hands together in anticipation,

"No we can't! Who've you found for me Lindy?" he's clearly thinking of supermodels,

"Me!" She rips off her long coat, revealing a dress that accentuates her masculinity, including bulging muscles. Everyone stares at her appalled.

"Heh?" Josh can't hide his shock. Lindy takes it to be happiness and threads an arm through his.

"Come on King, we've got a prom to get to."

She begins to drag him towards the front door, un-ladylike shoes thumping heavily on the floor. In the hallway Megan holds up her camera,

"Say cheese!"

Josh groans,

"Kill me!"

Drake follows behind them, unable to hide the grin spreading across his face. The prom is going to be one to remember.


	8. Chapter 8

#8 : The Big Night Two

The prom is in full swing. Craig and Eric seem to have brought each other and are dancing like drunken uncles at a wedding reception. Everyone else seems to be having a good time and Drake and his band are playing on stage to rapturous applause.

The only person not looking to be having fun is Josh, he and Lindy are dancing awkwardly, with Lindy treading all over Josh's toes, much to his discomfort,

"Blood loss," he moans pitifully, noting how much of a good time everyone else is having.

As the song reaches its climax Lindy twirls Josh round, sending him into the buffet table like a spinning top.

"Whoo!" she's clearly enjoying herself.

Up on stage, Drake finishes his set with a shout-out to the crowd,

"Thank you everyone!"

He moves aside, letting on the Principal, who is waiting eagerly in the wings with the envelope announcing the winner of the Prom King and Queen elections. He steps up to the microphone and clears his throat,

"All right can I have everyone's attention please? It is now time to announce the winner of the Prom King and Queen elections…"

Josh, untangling himself from the buffet turns round to face an excited Lindy,

"Here we go boy! Prom King's all yours!"

He blushes despite himself,

"You really think?"

She punches him playfully and he resists the urge to cry as his entire arm deadens,

"I know."

The Principal is now casting around the room,

"…can I have the nominees up here please?"

Besides Josh there are three other guys, looking sharp and confident, waving to friends in the crowd and blowing kisses to girls shouting their names. They all stare and giggle at Josh's tux as Lindy pushes him onto the stage, and he pulls the jacket closer self-consciously.

"Good evening gentlemen…" the Principal begins calmly, as if addressing guest-speakers at a conference, "…and good luck to you all."

Josh swallows nervous, but Lindy is giving him the thumbs up and silently miming at him how to stand and present himself. He follows her advice, puffs his chest out and holds his head high.

"The winner of Belleview Prom King 2007.…"

Lindy is miming a ridiculously wide grin and he copies her, beginning to feel it boost his confidence.

"…is…"

He is feeling good,

"…Drake Parker."

"What!" as everyone bursts into applause and the spotlight hunts around for the new King, Lindy's cry echoes around the hall.

"But…" Josh cannot believe it, "He didn't even run!"

The Principal shrugs over the noise,

"Sorry kid, the public wants what it wants."

Josh stares at him dumbfounded, it is worse than his worst nightmare. Outraged, Lindy clambers onto the stage to get into the Principal's face,

"I demand a re-count!" she bellows.

Beside Josh, Drake is being hustled onto the stage by a whooping crowd, looking as shocked as everyone else. The Principal, battling with Lindy to one side, wrenches the plastic crown from her hands and passes it to Drake with a smile,

"Congratulations son."

Drake smiles, still a little perplexed,

"Err…thanks," he puts it on and turns to wave to the crowd, who all cheer loudly. Josh watches it, feeling sick. One of the other contestants, not looking too sad at being denied the win himself, turns to him whilst clapping,

"Hey, you must be pretty pleased it's your brother?"

"Yeah," Josh looks anything but, his tone utterly defeated, "Ecstatic."

He leaves, stalking off the stage and past Lindy who is choking the Principal and screaming like a banshee whilst several students try to pull her off. Drake catches him leaving over the heads of the crowd and his expression shows his sympathy. But his attention is drawn to his side as with a scream, Lindy drives herself and the Principal through the velvet curtain into the backstage area.

Silently, he makes a mental note to watch the next edition of the Wacky Wrestling Corp.


	9. Chapter 9

#9 : The Aftermath

Josh is sitting on the steps outside, he's taken off his tie and jacket and is resting his head against the railings. He looks miserable. Drake saunters up beside him, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the crown. He looks down at his brother,

"Here," he offers out the plastic coronet.

Josh shakes his head,

"No," he says in a small voice, "It's yours. You won it. You're more popular."

Drake sits down heavily, not liking seeing Josh so depressed,

"Come on Josh - ,"

"No, ok?!" Josh suddenly seems angry, "You won all right. So you wear the crown, you go and enjoy yourself, and I'll just stay here and sink into the background. It's not like anyone would notice anyway. Go and celebrate with your friends."

Drake sits back with a sigh,

"I don't want to celebrate with my friends Josh. I want to celebrate with my brother. Besides, you deserve this way more than I do, you worked hard for this."

"Not hard enough obviously," Josh is resigned again, "Or else people would have voted for me."

There is a short silence. Drake looks across at him,

"I voted for you." He says eventually. Josh glances towards him, touched,

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

They sit quietly for a second, enjoying the peace and quiet. Finally Josh looks towards him,

"Drake?"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you something?"

"O-kay."

Josh turns towards him, the answer obviously important to him,

"Why didn't you want me to do this?"

Drake frowns,

"What?"

"Well, you were hardly very supportive. Was it because you didn't like me having a camera crew and everything?"

Drake looks mildly offended,

"No."

Josh shrugs,

"Were you worried I'd become more popular than you?"

His brother snorts,

"Unlikely."

Josh sighs and throws his hands in the air, clueless,

"Well what then?" an idea occurs to him, "Did…did you think I'd fail - ,"

"No," Drake cuts in hurriedly at this one, but is aware of Josh staring at him. He wants an answer. Drake shrugs,

"It's none of those ok.. I didn't really want you to do this because…" he's clearly a little uncomfortable, he's not big on touchy-feely, "…because you don't _need_ to change Josh."

Josh is touched, and a smile spreads across his face,

"What?"

"You know, being popular, dating loads of girls…that's not you…"

Josh's face falls,

"Well thanks," he mutters sarcastically.

"Because…" Drake carries on, "That's not what makes you Josh. If you change then who's going to come and bail me out when I do something stupid? We're a team. I screw-up, you save the day." He shrugs, "Besides, being friends with 'MTV Josh' isn't the same as being friends with the 'real Josh'…which is kinda sad because he's the better one."

Josh stares at him.

_"Ok, so my brother, Drake. Pain in the butt. Definitely. But as far as knowing what to say and when to say it goes, they don't come much better."_

He grins, pleased,

"Thanks."

"No problem," Drake stands up with a sigh, "Now come on, our dates are getting lonely."

Josh frowns,

"I thought Lindy had been arrested,"

"She has," Drake replies, "But I brought twins."

Slowly Josh starts to grin,

"Twins?"

"Yep. I mean, obviously I take the pretty one, but, well, there's one free if you want her."

"Yeah I do!"

Drake hauls Josh to his feet and the pair share a moment of understanding.

Drake pushes the crown onto Josh's head.

"Come on then,"

Josh bows elaborately,

"After you sire."

They turn and head inside.

_"So maybe I didn't get to be Belleview's Prom King. But I did learn something very special. I learnt that I have good friends, a good family, and most importantly, a good brother. And even more than that, I learnt that to be made popular, I don't actually have to change a single thing. As long as the people I value the most accept me for who I am, I'll be a winner every time."_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello all, just a quick note before we start, or, I guess, finish, to say that this chapter is not in 'real-time' anymore, because it doesn't take place during MTV's filming, it takes place after the show. Just thought I'd drop that in, in case anyone was a wee bit confused!**

**Many thanks for reviewing, always nice to get replies, especially from people chapter after chapter. So, without further ado…I hope you enjoy the last flourish!**

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

#10 : The Big Debut.

Drake screwed up his face as the credits began to roll over images of Josh carefully creating a playing card mountain.

Around him, everyone else seemed to be cooing and simpering, Audrey casting over with a warm smile,

"That was lovely Josh," she said supportively. Teenage awkwardness kicking in, Josh blushed.

"You think?"

"Absolutely."

Walter grinned over at him from the armchair,

"I'm very proud…" he paused, "…of both of you."

Drake was still squinting at the screen in bemusement, and Josh glanced over at him nervous of his opinion,

"What did you think Drake?"

His brother snorted,

"That was your final quote?" his brother nodded at him, "You watch too much Oprah. Besides, it made me look like a self-centred womaniser."

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" he shrugged.

Audrey turned back to Josh with a smile,

"Well I liked it. Megan honey, what about you?"

Sitting on the couch between her brothers, Megan looked up, her smile sickeningly sweet,

"I thought it was inspirational."

Walter and Audrey exchanged looks of adoration,

"Awww."

Eventually, everyone got up to bustle around the house and carry on with other things. Audrey came over to pat Josh on the shoulder,

"It was very good."

"Thanks."

As soon as they left the room, Megan stood up with a heavy sigh,

"Well Boob," she began to Josh, "I've seen worse television."

Josh smiled, aware of the vague compliment being offered in his direction,

"Thanks."

"But next time you guys want to get all creepy and touchy-feely, do us all a favour and remember that you've got a room already."

She turned and stalked out of the room, leaving Josh staring into space,

"Thanks," he replied to no one in particular, his tone a lot less convinced than it had been before. He turned back to Drake, who was still watching the credits, "You didn't like it?"

Drake shrugged, waving his hands in the air for inspiration,

"It was…ok. Although they left out the part where Lindy was being cuffed by like, five cops."

"They had to," Josh added, "It's about to go to court."

As silence settled over them and Drake picked up the remote for some channel surfing, Josh looked across at him,

"Hey Drake."

"Yeah?" he replied, his eyes not leaving the screen,

"Thanks."

Another long silence.

"Hey!" Drake suddenly exclaimed as the screen flashed into life. Josh peered at the picture,

"Wacky Wrestling Corp," he read, as he watched a woman in spandex dive from a tall ladder onto the chest of a prone opponent. Drake sat back with a sigh, content to watch the carnage, as Josh stood and headed for the kitchen, "Want something to drink?"

"Yeah. Hey are you going to watch this?" he called after him,

"Maybe for a bit, but I've got a science project due in at the end of next month so I should probably start that…" His brother replied through the hatch, pulling some cans of drink from the fridge.

As Josh flopped down beside him on the couch once more, handing him a can in the process, Drake smiled. He could do a lot worse than Josh for a brother, and Josh could do a lot worse than him, and as long as they both kept that in mind he was pretty confident that things were going to be just fine.

On the television a man fell from the top of the big screen onto a bed of thumbtacks. They both flinched visibly.

"Oooooh!"

Everything was back to normal….whatever normal was.


End file.
